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Category Archives: Legislation

Controlled Digital Lending: Unlocking the Library’s Full Potential

Kyle K. Courtney / Library Futures: “We are very excited today to announce the release of the Library Futures Foundation’s (LFF) new policy document “Controlled Digital Lending: Unlocking the Library’s Full Potential.” As outlined, controlled digital lending maximizes a library’s ability to loan works, thereby making the entire loaning system more efficient and equitable.  Library… Continue Reading

Understanding Federal Legislation: A Section-by-Section Guide to Key Legal Considerations

CRS Report – Understanding Federal Legislation: A Section-by-Section Guide to Key Legal Considerations, September 27, 2021 [91 pages]: “Federal bills are increasingly complex, making them difficult to understand for the average reader and the seasoned practitioner alike. What a congressional drafter understands to be the import of a given provision could later be discussed and… Continue Reading

GPO and Law Library of Congress Make Volumes of Nation’s Most Treasured Publications Digitally Available

“The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO), in collaboration with the Law Library of Congress, has digitized and made available volumes of the United States Congressional Serial Set on GPO’s govinfo, the one-stop shop to information published by the Federal Government. The release comes as part of a large decade-long partnership to digitize more than 15,000… Continue Reading

Harms of AI

NBER – Harms of AI, Daron Acemoglu, Working Paper 29247 DOI 10.3386/w29247 Issue Date September 2021. “This essay discusses several potential economic, political and social costs of the current path of AI technologies. I argue that if AI continues to be deployed along its current trajectory and remains unregulated, it may produce various social, economic… Continue Reading

Republicans seek Pennsylvania voters’ personal information as they try to review the 2020 results

The New York Times: “Pennsylvania Republicans moved on Wednesday to seek personal information on every voter in the state as part of a brewing partisan review of the 2020 election results, rubber-stamping more than a dozen subpoenas for driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers. The expansive request for personal information, directed at Pennsylvania’s… Continue Reading

Recent Steps Toward Improved Access to Federal Legislation

Information Today – Barbie E. Keiser – “During recent virtual meetings, representatives of several government entities showed how they had used the time during the pandemic to increase the public’s access to legislative information. The real takeaway from each online meeting is the degree to which these entities collaborate on projects. The Library of Congress… Continue Reading

Climate Change and U.S. Financial Regulators: Overview and Recent Actions

CRS Insight – Climate Change and U.S. Financial Regulators: Overview and Recent Actions, Updated August 26, 2021: “Under the Biden Administration,financial regulators have announced a range of new measures to address financial risks associated with climate change. The Department of the Treasury, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Federal Reserve have each announced… Continue Reading

Congress.gov August 2021 New, Tip, and Top

In Custodia Legis: “At the end of July, Andrew shared the enhancements from the last Congress.gov release, which included adding Key Word In Context (KWIC) search results for the Bound Congressional Record and new customization options for bill alerts. With this month’s release, a link to the treaty errata tab from the overview section on… Continue Reading

Senators unveil full text of bipartisan infrastructure bill

CBS: “Senators on Sunday unveiled the legislative text of the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill during a rare weekend session as lawmakers rush to begin the amendment process ahead of an expected vote on final passage by the end of the week. The bipartisan group of senators that negotiated the deal released the legislative language… Continue Reading

Tracking Federal Awards: USAspending.gov and Other Data Sources

Tracking Federal Awards: USAspending.gov and Other Data Sources Updated July 30, 2021 – “USAspending.gov, available at https://www.USAspending.gov, is a government source for data on federal awards by state, congressional district (CD), county, city, and zip code. The awards data in USAspending.gov are provided byfederal agencies and represent contracts, grants, loans, and other forms of financial assistance.… Continue Reading

LC Upcoming US Law Webinars – August 2021

In Custodia Legis: [In August 2021], the Law Library of Congress will present a webinar on federal statutes. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about the legislative process and how to trace federal statutes from their publication in the U.S. Code to their origins as bills. Participants will also learn about the difference between… Continue Reading

New Browse, Updated Bill Alerts, and More: Congress.gov New, Tip, and Top for July 2021

In Custodia Legis: “Earlier this month, Margaret shared the exciting news that we added bills and resolutions from 1799-1873 to Congress.gov. There was also a press release to highlight this new feature of content from Century of Lawmaking. We previously added Key Word in Context (KWIC) to Legislative Text on the Quick Search Form. With… Continue Reading